점점/차차 - Gradually | Korean Grammar Documentation

점점 and 차차 are adverbs meaning "gradually," "little by little," "more and more," or "step by step." They emphasize progressive change over time.

Basic Forms

점점 (jeomjeom)

More common, everyday usage:

점점 추워져요 (It's getting colder and colder)
점점 좋아져요 (It's gradually getting better)
점점 어려워요 (It's getting harder and harder)

Tone: Neutral, widely used

차차 (chacha)

Slightly more literary or formal:

차차 나아질 거예요 (It will gradually get better)
차차 익숙해질 거예요 (You'll gradually get used to it)
차차 알게 될 거예요 (You'll gradually come to know)

Tone: Somewhat formal, reassuring

Core Meaning: Progressive Change

Increasing/Intensifying

Getting more of something:

점점 많아져요 (Getting more and more)
점점 커져요 (Getting bigger and bigger)
점점 빨라져요 (Getting faster and faster)
점점 강해져요 (Getting stronger and stronger)

Decreasing/Weakening

Getting less of something:

점점 작아져요 (Getting smaller and smaller)
점점 줄어들어요 (Decreasing gradually)
점점 약해져요 (Getting weaker and weaker)
점점 느려져요 (Getting slower and slower)

Common Usage Patterns

With Adjectives

Gradual state changes:

점점 좋아요 (Getting better)
점점 나빠요 (Getting worse)
점점 예뻐요 (Getting prettier)
점점 어려워요 (Getting harder)
점점 쉬워요 (Getting easier)
점점 따뜻해요 (Getting warmer)
점점 추워요 (Getting colder)

With Change Verbs (-아/어지다)

Natural progressions:

점점 좋아져요 (Gradually getting better)
점점 커져요 (Gradually growing)
점점 익숙해져요 (Gradually getting used to)
점점 가까워져요 (Gradually getting closer)
점점 멀어져요 (Gradually getting farther)

With Action Verbs

Progressive actions:

점점 이해해요 (Gradually understanding)
점점 배워요 (Learning little by little)
점점 알아요 (Gradually knowing/realizing)
점점 느껴요 (Gradually feeling)

Weather and Nature

Seasons and Weather

Gradual environmental changes:

날씨가 점점 추워져요 (The weather is getting colder and colder)
날씨가 점점 더워져요 (The weather is getting hotter and hotter)
봄이 점점 다가와요 (Spring is gradually approaching)
하늘이 점점 어두워져요 (The sky is getting darker and darker)
해가 점점 저물어요 (The sun is gradually setting)

Time of Day

Daily progressions:

점점 밝아져요 (Getting brighter gradually)
점점 어두워져요 (Getting darker gradually)
밤이 점점 깊어져요 (The night is deepening)

Personal Development

Skills and Abilities

Improvement over time:

한국어가 점점 좋아져요 (My Korean is gradually improving)
실력이 점점 늘어요 (Skills are increasing little by little)
점점 잘해요 (Doing better and better)
점점 익숙해져요 (Getting more and more familiar)

Feelings and Emotions

Emotional progression:

점점 좋아해요 (Liking more and more)
점점 사랑해요 (Loving more and more)
점점 그리워져요 (Missing more and more)
점점 외로워요 (Getting lonelier and lonelier)
점점 행복해요 (Getting happier and happier)

Tense Usage

Present Tense (Most Common)

Current progressive change:

점점 좋아져요 (It's getting better)
점점 어려워져요 (It's getting harder)

Past Tense

Describing past progression:

점점 좋아졌어요 (It was getting better)
점점 추워졌어요 (It was getting colder)

Future Tense

Expected progression:

점점 좋아질 거예요 (It will get better gradually)
차차 나아질 거예요 (It will gradually improve)

점점 vs 차차

Frequency and Usage

점점: More common, everyday

점점 좋아져요 (Getting better - neutral)
Used in all contexts

차차: Less common, more formal/literary

차차 좋아질 거예요 (Will get better - reassuring)
Often used for reassurance or comfort

Nuance Difference

점점: Observable, continuous

Focus on the ongoing process
Can be positive or negative
Neutral observation

차차: Patient, reassuring

Often implies "don't worry, it will happen"
More gentle, comforting tone
Usually positive context

With Time Expressions

Emphasizing Duration

Over time:

시간이 지날수록 점점 좋아져요 (As time passes, it gets better and better)
날이 갈수록 점점 추워져요 (As days go by, it gets colder and colder)
점점 더 많아져요 (Getting more and more)

Sentence Position

Usually Before Verb/Adjective

Standard position:

점점 + Verb/Adjective
점점 좋아요 (Gradually good)
점점 커요 (Gradually big)

Can Be at Start

Emphasis:

점점, 날씨가 추워져요 (Gradually, the weather is getting colder)

Common Expressions

Encouragement with 차차

Comforting phrases:

차차 괜찮아질 거예요 (It will gradually be okay)
차차 익숙해질 거예요 (You'll gradually get used to it)
차차 알게 될 거예요 (You'll gradually come to know)
차차 나아질 거예요 (It will gradually improve)

Tone: Patient, reassuring, often used to comfort

Common 점점 Patterns

Everyday usage:

점점 더 (More and more)
점점 많이 (More and more / Increasingly)
점점 빠르게 (Faster and faster)
점점 천천히 (Slower and slower)

Intensifiers

점점 더 (More and more)

Double emphasis:

점점 더 좋아져요 (Getting better and better)
점점 더 어려워져요 (Getting harder and harder)
점점 더 많아져요 (Getting more and more)

Stronger than 점점 alone

점점 많이 (Increasingly)

Emphasis on quantity/degree:

점점 많이 먹어요 (Eating more and more)
점점 많이 배워요 (Learning more and more)

Negative Contexts

Worsening Situations

Gradual deterioration:

점점 나빠져요 (Getting worse and worse)
점점 힘들어져요 (Getting harder and harder)
점점 지쳐요 (Getting more and more tired)
점점 약해져요 (Getting weaker and weaker)

Politeness Levels

Works in All Contexts

Formal:

상황이 점점 좋아지고 있습니다 (The situation is gradually improving)

Polite:

점점 좋아져요 (It's getting better)

Casual:

점점 좋아져 (It's getting better)

With Progressive Patterns

점점 + -아/어 가다

Future-oriented progression:

점점 좋아져 가요 (Gradually getting better - going forward)
점점 커져 가요 (Gradually growing - going forward)

점점 + -아/어 오다

Past to present progression:

점점 좋아져 왔어요 (Has been gradually getting better)
점점 커져 왔어요 (Has been gradually growing)

점점 + -게 되다

Natural development:

점점 잘하게 됐어요 (Gradually came to do well)
점점 이해하게 됐어요 (Gradually came to understand)

Similar Meanings

조금씩 (little by little):

조금씩 좋아져요 (Getting better bit by bit)
More emphasis on small increments

서서히 (slowly, gradually):

서서히 변해요 (Slowly changing)
More formal, literary

차츰 (gradually):

차츰 익숙해져요 (Gradually getting used to)
Similar to 차차

Perspective and Usage

When to Use 점점

Use when:

Describing observable progressive change
Emphasizing continuous development
Neutral observation of trends
Most common everyday situations

When to Use 차차